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Castle Dell
Castle Dell, Georgia is a middle-sized city, and largest metropolitan area in Merriweather County. It is a Camarilla domain that Prince Dmitri Simyanova has ruled since the time when it was first settled, shortly before the Revolutionary War as a fledgeling city in the New World with a strong British population and loyalties to the Crown in an area ripe with territorial conflict between England and Spain. A large enough city to support a sizeable Kindred population, though not a major city along the coast and lacking little strategic importance, it sits as one of the few remaining Camarilla strongholds among the primarily Sabbat presence along the East coast. History Castle Dell was established as a logging port along the Angel River and primarily drew in people interested in making a profit, or as a layover to somewhere else along the East Coast of North America. It was originally founded as a British outpost for the Royal Navy and the British Army as the surrounding areas were commonly fought for and sought after by both the United Kingdom and Spain. The city grew as settlers followed British troops and a town grew around the small outpost. Revolutionary War Era By the onset of the Revolutionary War, there was a decent sized town developed, but it still retained a great deal of loyalty to the British crown among its settlers. As a result, the town supported a great deal of British military staging as well as hosting a penal colony for revolutionary supporters throughout the war and, ironically, led to some dissent among the local populace as they felt more and more that they were being trampled on and pushed aside to support the British war machine. This dissent caused quite a rift between the town's people as arguments and violence broke out among those supporting the British, and those supporting the revolutionaries. To keep the peace, martial law was imposed and the town was kept under strict curfew and regulation. Eventually, with the growing likelihood of victory for the American forces, one day the British forces simply pulled out. No warning was given and no reason was known. The British forces even left their prisoners locked up to die in the penal colony, Acheron Island. By this time, much of the population had already fled, but at this point Castle Dell practically became a ghost town, and was essentially lawless. Lawlessness did not last long in Castle Dell, and many believe that it was the influence of Prince Dmitri that returned order to the town. People began to filter back into the city, as did new Kindred since, up to this point, Dmitri was believed to be the only resident vampire in the area. It is not known exactly when the elder came into the city, but accounts say that it was either before or during the Revolutionary War. The town eventually began to grow once again and rapidly became a major logging and port town. The surrounding land was not such that crops could be easily grown, so unlike other Southern towns, it did not make its profits or draw its population from plantations. Instead, it's position at the mouth of the Angel River made it a gateway into the interior of Georgia and set it up as a large supplier of wood, both along the coast and deeper along the river. Civil War Era Castle Dell continued growing and was a full-fledged city by the mid-1800's. Upheaval was brewing among the United States, though, and being a port town, Castle Dell had its share of problems. Many of its residents were supporters of Southern independence, but there were plenty of visitors in the town that took exception to this. There was often violence and fighting amid the bustling downtown streets and Castle Dell had started developing a reputation as being a hard town. By the outbreak of the Civil War, though, such violence among the city's residents had all but stopped as visitors were less common and many turned their eyes, and their worries, to the North where the first outbreak of war had begun. As the war progressed, Castle Dell once again became a primary military outpost, this time for the Confederates. The former penal colony on Acheron Island was used by the Confederates as a supply depot, and troops and ships visited it regularly. This turned out to nearly be the destruction of the city. Federal Navy ships moved into the area, chasing away rebel military elements. Nobody knows where the order came from, and many of the undead population of Castle Dell suspect that it was given from either an enemy of the Camarilla, or an enemy to Prince Dmitri himself, but the Federal ships began a systematic bombardment of the city. Their salvos were unforgiving and targeted more than just the supply depot and military targets; Castle Dell herself was nearly leveled to the ground and wiped from existence. Victorian Era After the bombardment and near destruction of the city, Castle Dell played little part in the rest of the war, and the logging industry began to die as well. Thankfully, the city recovered quickly as the Prince and other Kindred residents of the city worked to restore her as efficiently as possible. The war passed and new settlers eventually began filtering back into the city. By the late 1800's, Castle Dell was once again a burgeoning port. Logging continued, but as the city grew there was less area to log and the industry never did fully recover from the naval attack. Still, business boomed and many newcomers were welcomed. The city hosted new residents from all walks of life, including Northerners and British travellers who, in days past, would have been viewed as enemies and unwelcome. Culture and technology quickly took its place in the city and, despite being smaller than many other Southern cities, the once small logging town was now growing into a small metropolis. The Great Depression When the Depression hit in the 1920's, Castle Dell was hit hard. Being such an isolated city dependant on trade to survive, most of the residents lost their jobs or did not make enough income to make ends meet. The outskirts of downtown all along the North bank of the Angel River grew into the city's own Hooverville, which took an already declining part of town and sent it plummeting into practically irreparable squalor. The decline of the area was so bad that, to this day, it never truly recovered and this part of town is known as the worst part of town with the cheapest housing and highest crime. Sabbat's Crusade - 1999 As the Sabbat Crusade that took most of America's East Coast in 1999 ravaged much of the Kindred population, Castle Dell remained largely unaffected. Lacking any real strategic importance, other than being a port, plus it's isolation and difficulty to reach safely, the Sabbat saw little value in committing troops to sieging the city, instead focusing on the more important Camarilla targets such as Atlanta, Baltimore, Buffalo, Hartford, Washington D.C. and others. Scouting parties were sent to Castle Dell, but either did not make it through the lupine infested wilds or did not survive long enough in the city to report back to their masters. As a result, the city and its Court had little to do with the entire affair. Current Day Castle Dell remains in much the same state as it always has. Isolated, occasionally dogged by the Sabbat, and lacking any major notice from the majority of the Camarilla's upper echelons. Prince Dmitri remains as the city's ruler, and does so with what the majority of the city consider a fair but harsh hand. The city continues to grow as the Kindred residents take their part in the nightly Jyhad that seems to compel so many of them. This gilded cage always seems to grow and change with the times, but somehow still remain the same. Geography Castle Dell lies at the mouth of the Angel River as it drains into the Atlantic Ocean. The city is essentially separated by the river, with the North side of the river hosting primarily the nicer parts of town. The South side sports more of a suburban sprawl. When it was originally settled, the Northern portion of the river is where the settlement began, as resident loggers made their homes and spent their off-time. The South side was primarily wooded area and is where the logging work was done. As more and more area was cleared away, the logging camps slowly moved their way East, closer to the coast. To the West of the city is primarily swamp land, and made logging difficult. By the late 1800's, most of the usable wood had been cleared away and, in it's place, suburban homes had grown. To the North, the original settlement had grown to an almost metropolitan expanse of downtown, with building growing ever larger, and more space being taken up on every viable portion of land. On the Northeastern peninsula of the city is where the more successful families started building their homes, and the trend continued until it hosted the best and most luxurious homes. To this day, you can find many Victorian manor homes that sit in this isolated portion of the city. During Castle Dell's industrial growth, it also saw academic enlightenment as a small but growing university founded by Allan R. Johnson was established and grew to the ornate grounds that make up a large expanse of the Western portion of the city. What was once a slummy part of downtown eventually became the city's entertainment district. At least, in part. The Southern portion of downtown continued to decline and fade away as the Western edge near the river developed more and more bars, taverns, and brothels. The suburban sprawl to the South of the city also saw decline as the area fell away and more well-off families continued moving farther from the bustle of downtown as more and more wooded land was cleared away. Eventually, the best spread of neighborhoods became those farthest away from the city proper. Because of its location Castle Dell continues to remain an isolated city. The outskirts of the city host swamp land and thickets that is unusable and unfriendly. More than one Kindred traveler has also mentioned that they have encountered Lupines in this area which makes travel dangerous if you're not coming in by boat or plane. There are four major freeways that move into and out of the city. Two to the South and one to the West if you are on the South side of the river, and one to the North if you are in the Northern portion of the city. Also on the Northern edge of the city, just outside the city limits and visible from the freeway, is a small ranch that was settled and founded by the Muldoon Family; a prominent local family. The ranch is laid out in what is considered one of the last usable portions of land, and has been the envy of many local businesses and families as they eye the land with their own interests in mind.